How to Generate Repeat Traffic

"Repeat traffic." Those words are music to the ears of every businessperson, whether you're talking about repeat traffic beating a path to your physical store location, or visitors clicking consistently through to your web site.

If you own a store, you know how to generate that repeat traffic: quality products attractively displayed, personal service, good pricing, etc. But what do you need to do on the web to get customers marking you as one of their "favorites" and coming back again and again?

Interestingly, the principles are identical. Let's compare building a web site to building a bookstore such as Barnes & Noble or Borders:

Construct a well-organized site. Imagine walking into a bookstore and being confronted with a scene of chaos. Book shelves are haphazardly spread around the interior; books are stacked horizontally on some shelves and vertically on the others; there are no signs directing you to different sections. Would you return? Of course not. You would probably turn around and walk out immediately.

The same holds true for your web site. You need to make it easy for your visitors to find what they are looking for. You need order, continuity, and structure. That means that your menu navigation should be intuitive and easy to use, sections and pages should have a consistent format, information should be presented intelligently, etc.

Create an aesthetically-pleasing site. Think about the last time you went into a large bookstore. Remember the attractive displays? The cleanliness? The warm colors and the wood paneling that made you take a deep breath and exhale all the day's stress?

Your web site should strike people the same way: it should be attractive to your target market (a key term there is "to your target market" - different target markets will find different styles attractive). It should present information cleanly and beautifully. It should invite people to browse and stay awhile. Create an atmosphere on your web site that welcomes your target audience and encourages long and repeated visits.

Design an organic site. Would you return to a bookstore that always had exactly the same selection of books, the same special offers, the same displays? No - eventually, you would want something new.

Web visitors are no different. To generate repeat traffic, you need to constantly provide them with something new and different. New products, new information, new graphics, new opportunities, new deals, etc. A common habit is to throw up a web site and never look at it again. That is a surefire way to discourage repeat traffic. To keep people coming back, you have to give them a reason to return. And that reason is: there's always something new.

Become a resource site. Do you always go into a bookstore to buy something? Not necessarily. Perhaps you just want to browse. Perhaps you aren't sure what you are looking for, so you're seeking information. Perhaps you just want to read a chapter out of a book to clarify a point. The bookstore personnel will never stop someone from browsing, or even from reading entire books while standing in the aisle. Why not? Because they know that the people who browse are eventually the people who buy.

Likewise, your web site should serve your target market as a resource with value-added information and content. Determine what your visitors are interested in, what they need, what they want - then collect that information for them and deliver it in a way that is easy and user-friendly. That may involve articles, ebooks, tools, blogs, videos, podcasts, link pages, recommendations, etc. The more people look to you as a reliable online resource, the more likely they are to purchase products from your site.

Develop a community site. Have you noticed a trend in the large bookstores? They often have a café area. Coffee, tea, pastries, chic yet comfortable décor ... the message is clear: you can relax and chat here. You can find people of like-mind here. You can establish relationships here.

The web is no different: people want to belong to communities. Those communities may be based upon a shared cause or common interest where visitors come to you because they know you are a resource for quality information, events, links, etc. Or they may be truly interactive web communities where you provide a place for them to connect with one another through forums, blogs, chat rooms, etc. In both cases, you provide the place and the common theme, and your visitors take over from there to develop a true online community.

In a nutshell, to build a site that generates repeat traffic, imagine that the site is a physical store location. What do visitors see the moment they walk in the door? Have you made it easy for them to find what they want - whether that is a product, a resource, or a community? Have you given them a reason to return? Was it easy for them to make a purchase? Do you have good sales support if they have questions or need help?

Apply all the same questions rigorously to your web site and you will see repeat traffic - and repeat sales. Guaranteed.

Reprinting: You have my permission to reprint and distribute this article as long as it is distributed in its entirety, including all links and copyright information. This article is not to be sold or included with anything that is sold.

About the Author:

Julie Friedman Bacchini is President of Neptune Moon Design (http://www.NeptuneMoon.com), a full-service agency providing businesses and non-profit organizations with custom web designs, web site marketing plans, and strategic search engine optimization (SEO), all designed to build brand recognition, increase site traffic, and generate leads, clients, and revenue. Be sure to visit http://www.NeptuneMoon.com to read additional articles that will help you reach your business goals!

© 2009 Neptune Moon

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julie_Friedman_Bacchini

By Julie Friedman Bacchini